County: Donations for tragic Purbeck Isle fishermen roll in (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

County: Donations for tragic Purbeck Isle fishermen roll in

10:30am Friday 1st June 2012 in Lyme Regis

THE first donations have begun to come in for the families of three Dorset fisherman lost at sea.

David McFarlane, 35, Jack Craig, 22, and Robert Prowse, 20, died when the Weymouth-based Purbeck Isle sank off Portland.

Ruth Jenkins and Harry Brown from the folk band Jam and Pickle raised £35 for the appeal by busking in Bucky Doo Square in Bridport over the weekend.

The Bridport-based Star of Dorset lodge of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes also intend to donate money to the appeal.

West Bay fisherman David Sales, 75, told in the News last week how he and his cousin Bill Gibbons had the boat built 52 years.

There are more than 160 collection tins across the county in aid of the charity, set up by the Weymouth and Portland Licensed Fishermen’s and Boatmen’s Association.

Andy Alcock, secretary of the Weymouth and Portland Licensed Boatmen’s and Fishermen’s Association, said collectors were doing ‘a fantastic job’.

He added: “The message is, just keep collecting, do as much as you can, and talk to us about it.”

Cash donations or cheques payable to the Weymouth and Portland Licensed Fishermen’s and Boatmen’s Association can be dropped into the News office in East Street, Bridport.

They can also be posted to Purbeck Isle Appeal, Dorset Echo, Fleet House, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 9XD.

To donate by credit card, visit the Dorset Echo website at dorsetecho.co.uk/donate.